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Friday, August 31, 2018

The real mojo?

"The New Encyclopedia of the Occult" is John Michael Greer's encyclopaedic survey of
the Western esoteric milieu. It's perhaps good as a reference work, but could
be confusing to the general reader. Topics covered include the Hermetic
Qabalah, Golden Dawn's ritual magic, Theosophy, Wicca, astrology and Tarot.
Among the innumerable persons mentioned are W. B. Yeats, Dion Fortune, Charles
Williams, Nostradamus, Franz Bardon, Mormon prophet Joseph Smith and even one
Jesus of Nazareth (who Greer believes was a magician).

While the emphasis is on “Western” traditions, there are also a few loose end
entries on Hoodoo, perhaps because the author is a member of a Hoodoo Church. I
always assumed Hoodoo was an urban legend! Apparently, it's the real mojo.
Topics *not* covered, or covered only briefly, include black magic, Satanism,
conspiracy theories and the Nazi-occult connection. Greer has clearly
endeavoured to write a “serious” volume on a subject often treated in somewhat
different fashion by other authors. The author's esoteric-magical tradition of
choice is the Golden Dawn, which shows. He has also included information on his
own little group, the Ancient Order of Druids in America.

I admit that I found this subject both fascinating and somewhat weird, being
steeped in more rationalist or at least main-line philosophies. (The main line
isn't necessarily rational, as we all know!) I admit that I deliberately sought
out the strangest pieces of information, about Taphthartharath, Zos Kia Cultus,
Order of the Sat B'hai, the Diakka (watch out for those guys!) or Ob, the
ruling spiritual hierophant of the Dark Satellite housing the Black Lodges. Any
relation to Windom Earl in Twin Peaks? And who wouldn't want to dance along
with the Hasidic Druids of North America?

But OK, this is probably the wrong approach, I know. Perhaps people like me
need to be reminded from time to time that serious esotericism is neither evil
nor comic…